A man shot and killed two women, then himself, outside of Ames' Cornerstone Church, sheriff says  —  Police say an adult man shot and killed two female victims, then took his own life, in a parking lot outside Ames' Cornerstone Church Thursday night.  —  The suspected shooter appeared …

Biden urges Congress to act on guns in rare prime-time address  —  Following the third mass shooting in as many weeks, the president says the time has come to confront the carnage.  He praised Senate negotiations and said voters should punish Republicans who block action.

‘There Are a Lot of People Very Close to the President Who Privately Understand That This Is a Complete Disaster’  —  So says the Washington Post's James Hohmann, in a conversation with The Bulwark's Charlie Sykes about the Biden administration's inexplicable desire to force taxpayers to pay off rich people's student loans.

Scoop: Trumpworld plots Jan. 6 counterprogramming blitz  —  Former President Trump and his allies, in conjunction with top House GOP leadership and conservative groups, have begun pulling documents and coordinating a behind-the-scenes effort to counterprogram the Jan. 6 committee's televised hearings this month, Axios has learned.

How Trump's Team Conned Susan Collins Into Dooming Roe v. Wade  —  Trump officials privately mocked the Maine Republican in the run-up to Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing, predicting it'd be easy to get the pro-choice senator to vote for a seemingly anti-choice nominee

Biden to Travel to Saudi Arabia, Ending Its ‘Pariah’ Status  —  As a candidate, President Biden vowed to punish the kingdom for the brutal assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.  But now he wants to rebuild relations as he seeks to lower gas prices and isolate Russia.  — Give this article- - - Read in app

‘An Impeachable Offense’: Fox News Contributor Slams Biden's ‘Extreme’ Gun Control Speech  —  Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway called President Joe Biden's speech on gun control “an impeachable offense” on Thursday evening.  —  The president addressed the country from the White House during remarks …

Why Sheryl Sandberg Quit Facebook's Meta  —  One of the world's most powerful executives became increasingly burned out and disconnected from the mega-business she was instrumental in building.  That dovetailed with a company investigation into her activities.

The Uvalde Police Scandal  —  Students inside were calling 911 and begging for help.  The officers stayed outside for almost an hour during the mass shooting.  —  1x  —  The great sin in what happened in Texas is that an 18-year-old with murder in his heart walked into a public school and shot to death 19 kids and two teachers.

Exclusive: Gov. Ron DeSantis to Veto $35 Million Tampa Bay Rays Facility Amid Polarization of Shootings  —  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis plans to veto a $35 million legislation for a Pasco County facility that's earmarked for the Tampa Bay Rays' spring training, OutKick has learned.

The bleak spectacle of the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial  —  How a washed-up celebrity, men's rights activists and true crime stans convinced millions of Americans to buy into a conspiracy theory … Content warning for vulgar language and descriptions of abuse.

Many Reporters Think Kevin McCarthy Is Dumb.  Why Can't They Say So?  —  Michael Schaffer is a senior editor at POLITICO.  His Capital City column runs weekly in POLITICO Magazine.  —  Is Kevin McCarthy a great big dummy?  —  That's not a rhetorical question.

Why Are Police So Bad at Their Jobs?  —  It's not just Uvalde.  Cops nationwide can't stop crimes from happening or solve them once they've occurred.  —  The inaction in the case of the Uvalde school shooter is the most egregious example in a string of police incompetence in high-profile shootings.

Scoop: Manchin's bipartisan energy talks crumble, paving way for Democrat-only deal  —  Bipartisan Senate energy talks led by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) are essentially over, with Republican senators convinced that Manchin is close to a reconciliation deal with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer …

Ilya Shapiro's Reinstatement Is a Win for the Political Power of Free Speech, But a Loss for the Value of Academic Freedom  —  There are two ways to look at Georgetown University Law Center's decision to reinstate Ilya Shapiro after a five-month investigation into a tweet.

NY prosecutors are moving closer to charging Steve Bannon in border wall effort Trump pardoned him for  —  (CNN)Several close allies of Steve Bannon have been subpoenaed to testify before a New York state grand jury investigating his fundraising for a private border wall effort, people familiar with the investigation tell CNN.

Uvalde teacher who officials mistakenly said left door open is traumatized and heartbroken, attorney says  —  Officials have determined that she did close the door, but it failed to lock.  —  Law enforcement is seen outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022, in an image taken from a video made by a bystander.

DeSantis moves to ban transition care for transgender youths, Medicaid recipients  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration Thursday asked the state board regulating doctors to essentially ban transition-related care for transgender minors, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.

Can this Texas Republican clinch a long-shot guns deal?  —  If the Senate can't agree on a legislative response after the killings in Uvalde, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said, “it will be embarrassing.”  —  Any gun safety deal Congress can pass after the shooting of 19 children and two teachers …

Trump expected to upend Wisconsin GOP governor primary by endorsing Tim Michels  —  Former President Donald Trump is expected to endorse Republican Tim Michels in the Wisconsin gubernatorial primary, snubbing the state's former lieutenant governor and injecting a new level of chaos into the race …

How Western heavy weaponry can make a difference in the war in Ukraine  —  “Artillery sweat saves infantry blood.”  —  The Ukrainian military has this saying for a reason.  —  It has been weeks since Ukraine began to ask desperately for heavy western weaponry, particularly advanced tubed …

The Russian soldiers refusing to fight in Ukraine  —  Some Russian troops are refusing to return to fight in Ukraine because of their experiences on the front line at the start of the invasion, according to Russian human rights lawyers and activists.  The BBC has been speaking to one such soldier.

CNN cutting back on over-hyping everything as “breaking news”  —  CNN's new boss Chris Licht says that beginning today, CNN has added a “Breaking News” guideline to its stylebook, to address overuse of the breaking news banner across its network and cable news writ-large.

Bill Barr says Trump should not run for president again in 2024  —  Former Attorney General Bill Barr says Donald Trump should not attempt a Grover Cleveland and run for president again after losing his reelection campaign in 2020 .  —  “I'm all for restoring America .

Reporters back Jean-Pierre against ropes over when Biden knew of formula crisis  —  White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was saved by the bell Thursday when a time-keeper told her to wrap up her press briefing after she dodged repeated questions on when exactly President Biden was briefed on baby formula shortages and by whom.